About Grant Thornton LLP
Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is one of America’s largest audit, tax, and advisory firms—and the U.S. member firm of the Grant Thornton International Ltd global network. They go beyond the expected to make business more personal and build trust into every result. With revenues of $1.97 billion and 51 offices nationwide, Grant Thornton is a community of more than 9,000 problem solvers who value relationships and are ready to help public and private organizations of all sizes and industries create more confident futures. Because, for Grant Thornton, how they serve matters as much as what they do.
Why Grant Thornton Cares
A key driver in Grant Thornton’s decision to foster leading-edge equitable employee benefits solutions was the need to attract and retain top talent. After initially providing backup child care benefits, firm leaders recognized that care needs are not limited to employees with children, and added senior backup care to the mix to help meet the needs of workers caring for aging loved ones. This was followed by later adding pet support services such as access to pet sitters and dog walkers. But the People & Community (P&C) team realized that there were employees who they still weren’t reaching.
“Over time, we realized that backup care alone did not necessarily meet the needs of the broader, diverse workforce,” said Lou Ann Hutchison, Managing Director of People and Community at Grant Thornton. “Not everyone has children, pets, or is part of the sandwich generation. Grant Thornton hires many individuals from varied and diverse backgrounds, and we wanted more inclusive benefits to be able to offer support for everyone—not just working parents.”
How Grant Thornton Cares
Grant Thornton has always been a leader when it comes to providing comprehensive, inclusive benefits. In 2020, Grant Thornton decided to upgrade their family benefits even further by partnering with Care for Business. Before their time with Care, Grant Thornton had backup care services with a different provider that had a more focused and narrower suite of offerings.
Today, with Care for Business, Grant Thornton offers their employees 30 days of subsidized Backup Care for children and seniors, which includes the ability for employees to use someone in their own personal network if their normal caregiver is unavailable. They also offer access to a Care.com Membership, which provides employees with access to the world’s largest network for finding vetted caregivers for children, seniors, and pets—as well as tutoring and housekeeping resources.
Another benefit Grant Thornton employees enjoy is 24/7 access to Care Specialists for expert advice and vetted recommendations for everything from child and senior care planning, to financial or legal assistance, to college planning, and more.
The Impact of Care
Care for Business benefits helped Grant Thornton maintain employee productivity, even when facing the challenges posed by COVID-19. During the pandemic, Grant Thornton increased the number of Backup Care days they offered from 15 to 30, and has maintained the 30 care days since. The Backup Care benefit saved Grant Thornton employees over 1,600 days of missed work since they put the program in place.
“We hear from our employees how much they appreciate the benefit, and the data really shows that,” said Hutchison. “Of those that are enrolled in the program, we see consistent 24% utilization of the program throughout the year.”
Employees have also turned to Care Specialists to assist them in finding child care, pet care, and housekeeping services—saving 130 productive hours for their employees annually.
“The Care solution provides a holistic approach to meeting employees’ needs way beyond backup child care or backup elder care,” said Hutchison. “This approach really does meet your employees wherever they might be in their career and life journey, and provides that solution that will make you an employer of choice.”